Are we, all of us, creatures of habit?

Do you go to bed at the same time every night, even if you are not tired?If so, you might quite likely be a pensioner.It’s a fact that we do seem to do the same things at the same times each day.We have meals at the same times. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at carefully staggered intervals.Irrational behaviour for us would probably be to have our evening meal an hour later, or to watch the ITV News instead of the BBC.
Many pensioners are very parochial about what they see as their own seat in their local pub – our picture shows the interior of the Museum Hotel, Orchard Street, 1980Many pensioners are very parochial about what they see as their own seat in their local pub – our picture shows the interior of the Museum Hotel, Orchard Street, 1980
Many pensioners are very parochial about what they see as their own seat in their local pub – our picture shows the interior of the Museum Hotel, Orchard Street, 1980

We tend to do our ‘big shop’ on the same day in the week at the same supermarket and we would defend that choice as being the place that we know where to find everything we want to buy.

Now and again, they try to fool us by moving the goods on to different aisles, but we soon have that sorted!

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Many pensioners wear the same kind of clothes bought from the same, safe, shops catering for the older generation. There was practically a period of mourning with elderly men when Greenwoods in Hillsborough closed.

However, saying that, I think I should defend my fellow golden oldies, as it seems that predictability is a thing with most Brits whatever their ages. Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote Tarzan, said: “We are, all of us, creatures of habit.”

If you look back into the past, well, perhaps as far back as the 1950s, sticking to what they knew was true of most young married couples, who rarely went to live far from their parents’ home, and certainly usually in the same town.

Things started to change when more young people were able to gain places at universities and not necessarily those near home.

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And also, when there were job opportunities in other parts of the country with young people bravely striking a blow for independence.

In towns like Sheffield, school leavers were often expected to follow in their parents’ footsteps and work locally, often in the steelworks where there were plenty of jobs.

But most people, wherever they live, get out of bed at the same time and take the same route to work.

If they travel by bus, they like to sit in the same seat, by the window and facing what they consider the right way.

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They buy a sandwich for lunch at the same shop with the same filling, and in fact, tend to shop at the same shops for all other purchases.

Their circle of friends remains largely unchanged through the years and they meet them in the same pubs and restaurants. Many remain highly suspicious of unfamiliar restaurants and other foreign food, except the kind they have enjoyed for years on foreign holidays in the same places.

I once heard someone defend the fact that they were going to Benidorm for the umpteenth time. “You know where you are with Benidorm,” he said.

A lot is also to do with the fact that you can get English beer at a reasonable price, fish and chips with a good strong cup of English tea and a big full English breakfast, also with the reliable cuppa.

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It seems that 91 per cent of Brits holiday in the same places every year. Some people are fearful of change and go for what they know and expect. They associate places with good times, with memories of their childhood and of places that they took their children to when they were small.

They associate deviating from the norm to be stressful. They like to know that their holiday place will be familiar. A home from home in other words – Britain with sun if venturing abroad!

Many pensioners are very parochial about what they see as their own seat in their local pub. I remember once wondering why I was being glared at across the room in a local hostelry.

As we vacated the seats to leave and looking back, the rightful owner of the seat had practically got his bottom on it.

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It could really spoil your night in the pub when you must sit in a strange seat.

To be stuck in a predictable rut can be very comforting for people, but can lead to boredom and demotivation.

It seems that nine out of ten people don’t vary their lives enough. It can extend to the same supermarkets and same hairdressers.

Fear of change can be a real trauma in the lives of many people, even to the extent of living in the past, listening to old music and watching re-runs of sitcoms from yesteryear.

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How many times have you heard people say ‘they don’t make them like that anymore’.

And how many people seem to take pride in the fact that they don’t know how to use a computer, let alone any other kind of technology?

We all have to do the same things every day to some extent. Otherwise, the fabric of our lives would disintegrate!

However, it is good for us to break out of our norm from time to time.

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How many people of advancing years would ever think of spending an afternoon at the cinema or theatre, or of having a meal out each week?

Pensioners’ specials are in abundance in local pubs or cafés.

Of course, everything is always dependant on mobility, which is something that increasingly lets us down.

There are clubs and societies for absolutely every hobby you might be interested in at a nominal fee and, although you might find it difficult to afford a holiday, there are countless day trips to interesting places.

Don’t stagnate, break out of your comfort zone and make your life less predictable. You might really enjoy it...

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